Design

Design is the process by which the needs of the customer or the marketplace are transformed
into a product satisfying these needs. It is usually carried out a designer or engineer but
requires help from other people in the company.

Design essentially is an exercise in problem solving. Typically, the design of a new product
consists of the following stages:

The development of a new product may also require the development of a prototype to prove
that new technologies work before committing resources to full-scale manufacture.

The traditional view of the design to manufacture process is that it is a sequential process, the
outcome of one stage is passed on to the next stage. This tends to lead to iteration in the
design. I.e. having to go back to an earlier stage to correct mistakes. This can make products
more expensive and delivered to the marketplace late. A better approach is for the designer to
consider the stages following design to try and eliminate any potential problems. This means
that the designer requires help from the other experts in the company for example the
manufacturing expert to help ensure that any designs the designer comes up with can be made.

So what factors might a designer have to consider in order to eliminate repetition?

 Manufacture - Can the product be made with our facilities?

 Sales - Are we producing a product that the customer wants?
 Purchasing - Are the parts specified in stock, or do why have to order them?
 Cost - Is the design going to cost too much to make?
 Transport - Is the product the right size for the method of transporting?
 Disposal - How will the product be disposed at the end of its life?

Design Brief

The design brief is typically a statement of intent. I.e. "We will design and make a Formula One
racing car". Although it states the problem, it isn't enough information with which to start
designing.

Product Design Specification (PDS)

This is possibly the most important stage of the design process and yet one of the least
understood stage. It is important that before you produce a 'solution' there is a true
understanding of the actual problem. The PDS is a document listing the problem in detail. It is
important to work with the customer and analyse the marketplace to produce a list of
requirements necessary to produce a successful product. The designer should constantly refer
back to this document to ensure designs are appropriate.

To produce the PDS it is likely that you will have to research the problem and analyse
competing products and all important points and discoveries should be included in your PDS.

Concept Design

Using the PDS as the basis, the designer attempts to produce an outline of a solution. A
conceptual design is a usually an outline of key components and their arrangement with the
details of the design left for a later stage. For example, a concept design for a car might consist
of a sketch showing a car with four wheels and the engine mounted at the front of the car. The
exact details of the components such as the diameter of the wheels or the size of the engine are
determined at the detail design stage. However, the degree of detail generated at the
conceptual design stage will vary depending on the product being designed.

It is important when designing a product that you not only consider the product design
specification but you also consider the activities downstream of the design stage. Downstream
activities typically are manufacture, sales, transportation etc. By considering these stages early,
you can eliminate problems that may occur at these stages.

This stage of the design involves drawing up a number of different viable concept designs which
satisfy the requirements of the product outlined in the PDS and then evaluating them to decide
on the most suitable to develop further. Hence, concept design can be seen as a two-stage
process of concept generation and concept evaluation

Concept generation

Typically, designers capture their ideas by sketching them on paper.  Annotation helps identify
key points so that their ideas can be communicated with other members of the company.

There are a number of techniques available to the designer to aid the development of new
concepts. One of the most popular is brainstorming.

This technique involves generating ideas, typically in small groups, by saying any idea that
comes into your head no matter how silly it may seem. This usually sparks ideas from other
team members. By the end of a brainstorming session there will be a list of ideas, most useless,
but some may have the potential to be developed into a concept. Brainstorming works better if
the members of the team have different areas of expertise.

Concept evaluation

Once a suitable number of concepts have been generated, it is necessary to choose the design
most suitable for to fulfil the requirements set out in the PDS. The product design specification
should be used as the basis of any decision being made. Ideally a multifunction design team
should perform this task so that each concept can be evaluated from a number of angles or
perspectives. The chosen concept will be developed in detail.

One useful technique for evaluating concepts to decide on which one is the best is to use a
technique called 'matrix evaluation'

With matrix evaluation a table is produced listing important the features required from a
product - usually this list is drawn up from the important features described in the product
design specification. The products are listed across the table. The first concept is the benchmark
concept. The quality of the other concepts are compared against the benchmark concept for the
required features, to help identify if the concept is better, worse than, or is the same as the
benchmark concept. The design with the most 'better than' is likely to be the best concept to
develop further.
Most people who use the matrix technique will assign points, rather than simple, better, worse,
same, so that it is easier to identify which concepts are the best. It is also likely that some
features of the design will be more important than others so a weighting is used.

Detail design

In this stage of the design process, the chosen concept design is designed in detailed with all
the dimensions and specifications necessary to make the design specified on a detailed drawing
of the design.

It may be necessary to produce prototypes to test ideas at this stage. The designer should also
work closely with manufacture to ensure that the product can be made.

Function of the PDS

As we have just seen, it is very easy to misinterpret a design brief and design a product the
customer doesn't want. The aim of the product design specification or PDS as it is also known, is
to help you to gain an understanding of the nature of the problem so that you can design a
better solution to the problem.

Going back to our example, it was important for instance to find out the type of chair the
customer wanted before we produced a design. But there are other factors to be considered
such as materials available, the size of the user, or even the colour they customer wants the
product to be. The more we know about the problem the easier it will be to produce a final
design that works first time and doesn't require alterations at a later stage.

The product design specification will help you understand the problem before you start your
design.

How to write a PDS

The product design specification (PDS) is a very important document in the design process as it
contains all the information necessary for a design team to successfully produce a solution to
the design problem. A PDS splits the problem up into smaller categories to make it easier to
consider the problem. The final document should fully document as unambiguously as possible
all the requirements that a product must fulfil together with any constraints that may affect the
product. The actual or intended customer should be consulted as fully as possible while the PDS
is being drawn up as their requirements are of paramount importance.

Any numeric properties in the PDS should be specified as exactly as possible together with any
tolerances allowed on their value.

Common categories

Various aspects relating to the product must be considered. The actual categories can vary, but
a typical PDS may consist of the following categories:

Appearance Competition Customer

Documentation Ergonomics Environment
Installation Product disposal Lead times
Legal and safety Legislation, patents and
Maintenance
implications copyright
Packaging and
Materials Performance
transport
Product
Processes Product cost
dimensions
Product life Quality Quantity
Standards Testing

The final document will be agreed by the customer.

Design Specification for a Portable Winch

The following example PDS, although longer than the PDS's you will produce for your projects,
contains many aspects of a commercial PDS and was written with advice from a winch design
company. A real design brief for a winch would contain many more aspects than outlined here.
A PDS for family motor car for example, would have many more categories specific to the
product and would require several large manuals to list the 'problem' in detail.

Portable Winch

Design Brief

From internal market research, it has been decided that IWC need to design a general purpose
winch to sell to the cable and pipe laying market sector. The winch should be portable but have
mounting points for the end user. It is important that the winch sits within out current range of
'Excel General Purpose winches'.

Performance

1.1 Lift / lower a load of 2.5 tonnes (+/- 10%).

1.2 Draw in cable in at a rate of 0.2 m/s.

1.3 The winch drive should cut out when the load exceeds 10% of the specified load.

1.4 Drive to stop lowering load when only 1.5 metres of cable remains on winch drum.

1.5 Winch should operate with forward, reverse, stop and inch facility.

1.6 Any braking system employed, should produce a braking torque of 150% the full load
torque.

1.7 Winch should have a manual device to control the brake release and load descent in the
event of a power failure.

1.8 In the event of the winch 'overrunning', a manual safety relay/braking device should
operate within 1 second or before the load exceeds a speed of 3m/s.

1.9 The product should be portable but with the option for permanent mounting.

1.10 The product must use a portable power source, preferably a diesel engine.

1.11 The weight of the product must be sufficient to aid the stability of the product.

1.12 Efficiency of the unit should be high, preferably in the area of 20 - 30%.

1.13 The drum should hold 50m of cable.

2.0 Environment

2.1 The winch drive and power unit should be power unit.

2.2 The unit will be mainly used in European weather conditions. But we could expect sales of
about 2% unit volume to the Far East.
2.3 Temperature ranges:

-28 degree C - European

12 - 44 degree C - Far East

2.4 The product may experience humid conditions.

2.5 Corrosion resistance may be considered by the use of special materials or surface protection
methods.

2.6 Any noise from the equipment should not exceed 95 dB at a distance of 1.0m.

2.7 The winch will be stored in suppliers warehouses before sales.

3.0 Product Life Span

3.1 Product will be on the market for 10 years.

3.2 Spare parts will be available for a further 5 years after that.

4.0 Life in Service

4.1 Should withstand an operating period of 1 hr uninterrupted use per day for 5 years.

4.2 Life in service should be assessed against the criteria outlined in the Performance and
Environment categories.

5.0 Shelf Life

5.1 The product will be stored on-site for up to 1 month before dispatched.

5.2 Our Far East distributor may store the product for several months.

6.0 Target Costs

6.1 The product should have an end-user cost of £5500 within Britain.

6.2 The cost of manufacture should be less than £2750.

6.3 The cost of packaging and shipping should be no more than 15% of the manufacturing cost.

7.0 Quantity

7.1 150 units in the first year, increasing to 800 within four years.

8.0 Maintenance

8.1 To be maintenance free except for light lubrication once a month and a recommended
service every two years.

8.2 Parts requiring lubrication should be accessible within 15 minutes without the use of special
tools or equipment.

8.3 All fasteners used should comply with BS6105.

8.4 Spares should be available for 5 years after the product is replaced with a new model.
8.5 No special tools should be required for maintenance.

9.0 Marketing

9.1 Initially to be manufactured for the European market but our Far Eastern distributors in
Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia will be able to find a market for the product.

9.2 The winch should be operating against equivalent models which include the following
companies:

 Swansom - England
 Oholom - Sweden
 Winderhock - Germany

9.3 Applicable markets:

 Telecom - Cable laying

 Gas and Electricity operators
 Pipe laying services
 Civil Engineering Operations

9.4 Summary of market requirements:

 Portable winch which can be attached to vans and low loaders

 Use portable power source
 To be used in all weather
 To allow one man operation
 To have at least 40m of cable
 To pull 2000kg

10.0 Packaging

10.1 Packaging / transport cost should be kept to a minimum and preferably below 5% of the
unit cost.

11.0 Size and Weight Restrictions

11.1 Weight should not exceed 500 kg.

11.2 Length not to exceed 2500 mm.

11.3 Width not to exceed 2000mm.

11.4 Height not to exceed 2000mm.

12.0 Shipping

12.1 Product will be shipped by road within Europe.

12.2 Product will be shipped by sea to Far Eastern markets.

13.0 Manufacturing Processes

13.1 Capacity is available for current market demand within scope to increase production to 200
per year without investment / expansion.

13.2 Motors, transmissions, bearing and ropes are bought in from the following suppliers:
Drives:

 Electric Motors - Brook Compton

 Diesel Engines - Gardener
 Hydraulic Motors - Hydrostatic Transmission Ltd

Bearings:

 RHP Bearings

Transmissions:

 Couplings - Wellman Bibby

 Worm Gears - Reynold
 Planetary Gears - David Brown (PPG Divisions)
 In-Line Gears - David Brown Radicon Ltd
 V-belts - Fenner

Ropes:

 Bridon

13.3 Castings and injection moulds produced by external suppliers.

14.0 Aesthetics

14.1 The form can follow function.

14.2 If cost dictates, the winch should look attractive to improve our perception within the
market.

15.0 Ergonomics

15.1 Controls to be mounted in an accessible position, relative to the operator i.e. waist height -
around 1m, to accommodate 95% of the working population.

15.2 All controls should be hand operated, requiring one-hand operation with a maximum force
of 1.5 N/m2

15.3 One man should be able to operate the product.

16.0 Customer Requirements

See Marketing

17.0 Competition

17.1 The winch will be operating against equivalent models which include the following
companies:

 Swansom - England
 Oholom - Sweden
 Winderhock - Germany

18.0 Quality and Reliability

18.1 Quality should be such that winches should not generally fail within a period of three years
and only 1 in 50 should fail within the first year.

18.2 No winch should fail in the area of the safety overload device.

19.0 Standards and Specifications

19.1 Standards to be adhered to:

 BS 5000 part 99 Motor Performance

 BS 6105 and BSEN 20898(1) Bolts
 BS 6322(2) & BS 4320 Nuts and washers
 BS 7676 and BS 4517 Gears
 BS 3019 Welding
 BS 5989 Bearings
 BS 2754 Electrical Insulation
 BS 5646 pt4 Bearing Housing
 BS 4235 Keys and Keyways
 BS 7664 Painting
 BS 1399 Seals

20.0 Company Constraints

20.1 None - except those outlines in Manufacturing and Processes.

21.0 Processes

21.1 All components to be of metric form and comply with ISO 4900 for limits and fits.

22.0 Safety

22.1 No winch should fail in the area of the safety overload device.

22.2 Winch should not operate when maintenance is being carried out.

23.0 Testing

23.1 Testing is to be carried out on 5% of units.

23.2 All cables should be tested to BS3621.

24.0 Legal

24.0 Possible litigation lies in the user injuring themselves by having access to moving parts
during winch operation.

25.0 Installation

N/A

26.0 Documentation

26.1 Product should be supplied with a user manual covering winch operation and maintenance.

26.2 Suppliers require maintenance and repair manual.

27.0 Disposal
27.1 Plastic parts should be separable and marked to aid disposal.

How to write a PDS

The product design specification (PDS) is a very important

document in the design process as it contains all the
information necessary for a design team to successfully
produce a solution to the design problem. A PDS splits the
problem up into smaller categories to make it easier to
consider the problem. The final document should fully
document as unambiguously as possible all the
requirements that a product must fulfil together with any
constraints that may affect the product. The actual or
intended customer should be consulted as fully as possible
while the PDS is being drawn up as their requirements are
of paramount importance.

Any numeric properties in the PDS should be specified as

exactly as possible together with any tolerances allowed
on their value.

Common categories
Various aspects relating to the product must be considered. The actual categories can vary, but
a typical PDS may consist of the following categories:

Appearance Competition Customer

Documentation Ergonomics Environment
Product
Installation Lead times
disposal
Legislation,
Legal and safety
patents and Maintenance
implications
copyright
Packaging and
Materials Performance
transport
Processes Product cost Product dimensions
Product life Quality Quantity
Standards Testing

The final document will be agreed by the customer.